GE said Tuesday it has clinched a deal to supply advanced gas equipment to the Naepo District Heating Plant, a regional heating supply system for the Naepo new town in South Chungcheong Province.

GE said that per this deal, it will be equipping the plant with 7HA.02 gas turbine technology, which will provide approximately 500 megawatts to the national grid -- the equivalent output needed to power some 125,000 South Korean homes.

It will also provide steam for district heating for more than 100,000 people residing in Naepo, who have previously had to purchase their own individual hot water boilers.

The equipment maintenance service will last for 19 years, GE said.

Kim Dong-soo, executive vice president of Naepo Green Energy, said that NPGE chose GE for its track record of on-time and safe delivery of equipment for this kind of application in Korea.

GE has previous experience in building HA gas turbines for GS Power’s plant in Anyang and the Oseong power plant in Pyeongtaek, both in Gyeonggi Province.

“We trust GE’s equipment to help us in meeting the energy and heating needs of our communities in Naepo City, with temperatures as low as minus 10 degrees Celsius in the winter months,” said Kim.

“Using GE technology for this district heating application will help us meet the Government of South Korea’s objective of shifting away from solid refuse fuel as part of its policy to reduce pollutants.”

The new gas turbine-based district heating plant will replace a previously planned Solid Refuse Fuel boiler plant. The HA technology captures and reuses wasted heat or steam that would otherwise go unused after being released into the environment. It generates more energy per unit of fuel with lower carbon emissions.

Naepo District Heating Plant will be built by Lotte Engineering & Construction.

“District heating is a highly efficient energy solution that delivers energy savings and relevant reductions in CO2 and NOx emissions” said Chris Khang, president and CEO of GE Korea.

GE has been present in South Korea since 1976. In 2015, GE undertook a large-scale manufacturing plant investment in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, acquiring Doosan’s HRSG manufacturing business.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)